Education and Research Training

This program is intended to help meet the substantial need for research scholars in U.S. dental schools. The program has produced and will continue to meet the growing needs of academic dentistry, producing scholars who are competent as clinicians and independent as scientists, who are able to initiate and maintain funded research programs, and who are prepared for the evolution of their research in new directions. The four major tracks of the training program are D.M.D./Ph.D., Ph.D., postdoctoral, and short-term dental student research. We train individuals from a broad spectrum of experiences from completion of B.S./B.A. degrees to those who have completed Ph.D. and/or dental residency training. Degree program tracks focus on basic biological problems related to dental, skeletal, craniofacial and oral biology in health and disease. The postdoctoral training track includes translational and behavioral research in addition to the above areas. A core curriculum which integrates different disciplines and levels of training and expertise exposes trainees to the diversity and complexity of the biology and sociology of oral diseases. The Health Center has a dynamic group of faculty in skeletal, craniofacial and oral biology, with highly successful collaborations among faculty throughout the Schools of Dental Medicine and Medicine and the main campus of the university. The Biomedical Science Ph.D. Graduate Program, faculty and active institutional research centers and clinical signature programs provide laboratory, translational and patient oriented research opportunities that enable a diversified training environment for the program tracks. This allows flexibility for the individual needs of trainees, and ensures successful progress through the tracks. We provide training that is tailored to each candidate, while maintaining a focus on skeletal, craniofacial and oral biology through symposia, seminars, courses, clinical research centers and collaborative research activities, which are integrated both within individual tracks and amongst all the tracks of the program. The grant has stipend support for nine predoctoral trainees (largely D.M.D./Ph.D. trainees but also includes Ph.D. trainees), four postdoctoral trainees and eight short-term dental student trainees conducting research in the summer. Support is limited to U.S. citizens and permanent residents.

The University of Connecticut Health Center offers a Ph.D. Program in Biomedical Science through the Graduate School of the University of Connecticut. The Skeletal, Craniofacial and Oral Biology area of concentration, based in the Center for Regenerative Medicine and Skeletal Development, is one of the six areas of concentration of the Biomedical Science Ph.D. Program. Skeletal, Craniofacial and Oral Biology is the study of basic biological properties related to skeletal, craniofacial and oral tissues.

Prospective postdoctoral scholars can do their research in a wide variety of laboratories in the center encompassing many disciplines. The best strategy for finding a postdoctoral position is to contact faculty in your area of interest directly. Please check the Faculty and Research web pages to identify mentors appropriate for your interests. Postdoctoral scholars are generally supported by research funds of individual faculty or by our NIDCR-supported T32 training grant.

The Medical/Dental Student Summer Research Program is offered to entering and first-year students of the Schools of Medicine and Dental Medicine. It is designed to give students the opportunity to engage in research projects under the guidance of a faculty member. Students are notified of opportunities in December with a “letter of intent,” application cover sheet and procedures. Interested students need to file the “intent” to Lynda Rae Fox in February. Students then meet with faculty to develop a research protocol. Fellowships are awarded for approximately 400 hours of research time. The stipend is normally $3,000 depending on sources of funding available for the program. The number of stipend supported projects is limited and are awarded on a competitive basis by the Faculty Research Committee. Students are advised to prepare their applications carefully in close conjunction with their sponsors. Most important are the articulation of a clear hypothesis and the delineation of defined approaches to test it.

• Learn more about the Medical/Dental Student Summer Research Programs at the University of Connecticut School of Dental Medicine.